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U.S.  DEPOSITORY 


Hawaii  Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 

HONOLULU. 


E.  V.  WILCOX,  Special  Agent  in  Cnarge. 


PRESS  BULLETIN  INO.  31. 


Brief  Instructions  for  Farm  Butter  Makers* 


Hi  A.  CLOWES, 

SUPERINTENDENT    HAWAII  SUB-STAT] 


& 


The  iN^s/ty^Vlv*  ,*'' 


The   Territory   of   Hawaii   consumes   annuall 
worth  of  imported  butter  and  oleomargarine, 
range  from  forty  cents  to  seventy-five  cents  per  pound.     Be*^tf^<// 
this,  there  is  an  enormous  amount  of  "Island"  butter  sold.    House- 
keepers prefer  the  island  product  if  it  is  good,  but  the  supply  of 
well  made  butter  is  not  equal  to  the  demand. 

Island  butter  does  not  keep  well.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this 
bulletin  to  give  simple  rules  for  producing  good  flavored  butter 
that  will  keep  well. 

FLAVORS  ABSORBED  FROM   OUTSIDE. 

Milk  and  butter  are  much  influenced  by  odors  in  the  air.  If  the 
milking  is  done  in  a  bad-smelling  stable,  the  milk  is  almost  sure  to 
absorb  it.     For  this  reason  the  place  where  the  milking  is  done 


should   be   kept  clean.     The  milk   should  be  removed   from  the 
stable  as  soon  as  possible  after  milking  into  a  sweet,  clean  place. 

FLAVORS    PRODUCED    WITHIN    THE    MILK    ITSELF. 

If  milk  is  kept  free  from  bacteria  it  will  never  sour.  There  are 
few  bacteria  in  milk  as  it  comes  from  the  cow,  but  they  multiply 
very  rapidly.  Dust  dropping  into  the  milk  from  the  air  carries 
multitudes  of  them.  When  the  sun  shines  through  a  crack  we 
see  myriads  of  little  specks  of  dust  floating  in  the  air.  These 
little  air-ships  are  in  dry  air  at  all  times,  and  are  constantly  rising 
and  falling.  Each  one  carries  perhaps  a  hundred  germs.  Many 
k  of  these  are  good  germs,  but  most  of  them  will  give  trouble  to 

P*  the  butter-maker.     Cow  hairs  are  loaded  with  undesirable  germs. 

When  hairs  get  into  the  milk,  they  introduce  into  the  milk  count- 
less germs  to  make  trouble  for  the  careful  butter-maker.  So  it 
is  with  flies,  poorly  washed  milk  buckets  and  utensils,  and  dirt 
of  any  kind.  Many  of  the  bad  flavors  and  other  troubles  of  the 
Jf  <-,-.-  -buttermakers  are  caused  by  bad  germs.  The  careful  butter- 
maker  must  carefully  guard  his  milk  and  cream  against  undesir- 
able germs.  Nevertheless  in  spite  of  all  that  can  be  done,  cream 
"•  will  have  'undesirable  germs  in  it.  It  is  customary  therefore,  at 
creameries  to  pasteurize  the  cream  as  soon  as  it  is  separated. 
This  can  be  done  by  heating  the  cream  to  150°  F.  or  160°  F.  and 
then  cooling  it  down  as  quickly  as  possible  to  the  souring  tempera- 
ture, which  is  usually  about  60°  to  70°  F.  Pasteurizing  kills 
nearly  all  germs. 

THE    RIPENING    OF    CREAM    BY    DESIRABLE    GERMS. 

Now  comes  the  time  to  take  into  account  the  desirable  germs. 
Scientists  can  show  us  under  the  microscope,  minute  organisms, 
of  a  certain  species  which  produce  the  most  desirable  flavors  in 
butter. 

In  large  modern  creameries,  these  germs  are  carefully  reared 
and  introduced  into  the  pasteurized  cream.  This  process  is  too 
elaborate  for  the  farm  butter-maker,  but  similar  methods  are 
used  by  many  farm  butter-makers.  It  is  a  common  practice  of 
good  butter-makers  to  add  to  the  sweet  cream  24  or  48  hours 
before  churning,  some  sour  cream  or  milk  or  some  buttermilk. 


3 

This  "starter"*!  as  it  is  called,  must  be  of  a  pleasant  acid  taste, 
or  it  will  do  more  harm  than  good.  About  one  part  of  starter  to 
ten  parts  of  cream  should  be  used,  if  the  cream  is  to  be  soured 


The  Most  Sanitary  Style  of  Milk  Bucket 


*1  There  are  two  different  classes  of  starters— the  NATURAL,  in- 
cluding sour  milk  or  cream,  buttermilk,  or  whey, — and  the  COMMERj 
CIAL. 

The  natural  ones  usually  contain  several  species  of  bacteria  (some 
good,  some  bad) — while  the  commercial  starters  are  divided  into  "pure 
cultures"  made  up  from  a  single  individual  of  a  single  species,  and 
"mixed  cultures"  containing  different  species,  but  only  those  whose 
action  is  known  to  be  beneficial. 

A  more  varied  product  is  made  from  the  use  of  the  natural  starters, 
while  writh  the  commercial  as  long  as  they  are  kept  pure — a  very  uni- 
form article  of  butter  can  be  secured  since  these  contain  only  those 
germs  which  give  to  the  butter  the  proper  flavor  and  keeping  quality. 
The  product  from  use  of  Commercial  starters  probably  excels 
that  from  use  of  natural  ones  as  much  as  the  latter  excels  that  made 
in  the  old-fashioned  haphazard  way. 

Ref—  Wis.  Bui.  No.  246,— Iowa  Bui.  No.  103,— Wis.  Bui.  No.  181. 


in  48  hours.  When  a  longer  time  is  to  be  allowed,  less  starter 
will  be  needed.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  get  some  butter-milk  from  a 
neighbor  who  makes  good  butter,  if  a  good  starter  cannot  be  se- 
cured at  home.  This  method  would  be  farther  improved  if  the 
cream  were  pasteurized  before  the  starter  were  added.  The  only 
instrument  needed  for  this  is  a  common  floating  dairy  ther- 
mometer, which  can  be  bought  for  about  twenty-five  cents  from 
any  dairy  supply  house.  Simply  put  the  cream  as  soon  as  sepa- 
rated or  skimmed,  upon  the  stove  and  heat  it  up  to  150°  F.  or 
160°  F.  Then  cool  it  to  the  temperature  at  which  it  is  to  be  kept 
until  sour,  and  add  the  starter.  Of  course  where  the  cream  from 
three  or  four  separations  is  to  be  mixed  together,  the  starter 
need  be  added  only  once,t  but  each  lot  should  be  pasteurized. 
By  pasteurizing  the  cream  and  using  a  starter,  the  butter  wili 
be  found  to  keep  better  than  if  the  cream  is  allowed  to  sour  by 
chance.  The  most  common  complaint  against  island  butter  is 
*hat  it  does  not  keep.  The  above  method  will  remedy  this  evil. 
As  a  rule  it  is  best  to  keep  the  cream  at  such  a  temperature  that 
it  will  be  ready  for  churning  in  about  48  hours,  but  where  few 
cows  are  kept  a  shorter  time  is  permissable. 

SHALLOW  PAXS. 

Cream  or  milk  should  not  be  kept  in  shallow  pans.  These  pans 
expose  a  great  amount  of  milk  to  the  air  and  this  permits  it  to 
absorb  bad  odors,  and  also  gives  great  opportunity  for  large  num- 
bers of  germs  to  enter  the  milk.  It  also  allows  the  top  of  the 
cream  to  dry  out  and  become  tough.  This  tough  cream  causes 
white  specks  and  a  mottled  appearance  in  the  butter. 

DEEP  CANS. 

The  cream  should  be  set  in  deep  tin  cans,  as  shown  in  the  illus- 
tration. These  are  easy  to  clean,  easy  to  handle  and  expose  very 
little  cream  to  the  air.  They  should  be  lightly  covered,  with  clean 
paper,  cheese-cloth  or  a  loose  fitting  cover. 


t  At  the  Hilo  Boarding  School,  it  was  found  to  be  better  to  add  the 
starter  to  the  second  of  four  lots  of  cream. 


WHEN   TO   CHURN. 

Cream  is  ready  to  churn  when  it  has  a  pleasant  acid  taste 
and  smell,  and  when  it  pours  like  molasses.  It  requires  skill  and 
practice  to  determine  when  cream  is  at  its  very  best  state  to 
churn.     Even  the  most  skillful  and  experienced  person  will  make 


A  Handy  Butter  Worker  for  the  Farm 

mistakes.  On  this  account  it  is  advisable  to  use  an  acid  tester  to 
determine  the  condition  of  the  cream.  The  outfit  necessary  for 
this  can  be  purchased  from  dairy  supply  houses  for  about  $5.00, 
and  the  use  of  one  of  these  outfits  will  do  much  towards  pro- 
ducing a  uniform  product.  Sufficient  directions  come  with  the 
outfit  to  enable  any  inexperienced  person  of  intelligence  to  use  it 
with  good  results. 


CHURNING. 


The  barrel  churn  is  the  best  churn  for  farm  use.     When  the 
amount  of  cream  to  be  handled  becomes  too  bulky  for  a  large 


sized  barrel  chum,  it  will  pay  to  get  a  combined  churn  and  but- 
ter worker,  and  the  latter  will  pay  even  with  fifteen  cows. 

TEMPERATURE. 

The  cream  to  be  churned  should  be  at  a  temperature  of  about 
55°  Fahr.  If  the  buttermaker  has  a  dairy  thermometer  and  uses 
it,  he  will  soon  determine  the  proper  temperature  at  which  he 
should  churn.  If  the  churning  temperature  is  too  warm  the  but- 
ter will  be  soft,  and  if  worked  in  that  condition  will  become 
greasy,  and  it  will  be  hard  to  get  the  wash  water  out.  If  the 
cream  is  too  cold  the  churning  may  be  retarded. 

PREPARING   THE   CHURN. 

To  prepare  the  churn,  first  pour  into  it  a  few  quarts  of  boiling 
water,  fasten  the  lid  on  loosely  so  as  to  permit  the  steam  to 
escape.  Revolve  the  churn  a  few  times,  and  then  empty  out  the 
water.  The  pressure  of  the  steam  will  fill  all  the  pores  of  the 
churn  with  water,  and  the  cream  will  not  stick  to  the  churn.  The 
churn  must  then  be  cooled  off  by  putting  some  clean  cold  water 
into  it.  Replace  the  lid  and  revolve  the  churn  rapidly  three  or 
four  times.     Empty  out  the  water  and  the  churn  is  ready  to  use. 

The  cream  should  be  strained  into  the  churn  through  a  coarse 
wire  strainer.  This  will  remove  lumps  of  hard  curdled  cream 
which  cause  specks  in  the  butter.  If  butter  color  is  to  be  used  it 
should  be  added  at  this  time,  before  churning  commences. 

The  churn  should  be  revolved  just  as  rapidly  as  can  be  done 
without  having  the  cream  revolve  with  the  churn.  It  is  the 
splashing  which  knocks  the  little  globules  of  fat  together  so  that 
they  are  united,  consequently  the  more  concussions  there  are  to 
take  place  inside  the  churn  per  minute,  the  quicker  the  butter 
comes.  The  wooden  plug  in  the  churn  should  be  removed  at 
frequent  intervals  during  the  first  few  minutes  of  churning  so  as 
to  permit  the  gas  to  escape. 

Churning  should  cease  when  the  butter  is  gathered  in  little 
lumps  the  size  of  rice  kernels.  The  buttermilk  may  then  be 
drawn  off  through  the  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  churn,  using  the 
coarse  strainer,  before  mentioned,  to  catch  stray  lumps  of  butter. 
Let  the  buttermilk  draw  off  well. 


WASHING. 

Pour  into  the  churn  about  as  much  very  cold  water  as  there 
was  cream  to  begin  with.  Close  the  churn,  and  revolve  it  very 
fast  three  or  four  times.  Remove  the  stopper  and  let  the  water 
drain  off. 


A  Cheap  Efficient  Butter  Printer 

SALTING. 

Add  to  the  butter  about  an  ounce  of  salt  to  the  pound  of  but- 
ter. It  may  be  necessary  to  weigh  the  butter  before  salting,  but 
always  weigh  and  salt.  Remember  that  salt  is  cheap,  and  that  it 
is  poor  policy  to  put  in  less  salt  than  your  customers  want.  The 
salt  should  be  very  fine  and  should  be  sifted  evenly  over  the 
butter,  either  in  the  churn,  or  on  the  worker. 


Butter  should  be  worked  till  the  salt  is  evenly  mixed  all  through 
the  butter,  and  till  the  water  does  not  show  in  large  drops.  Re- 
member that  customers  have  no  objection  to  a  small  amount  of 


water  in  the  butter  as  long  as  it  does  not  show.  If  butter  is  soi> 
when  worked,  the  water  will  appear  in  large  drops.  Never  give 
a  sliding  motion  to  the  worker  or  ladle.  A  sliding  slipping 
motion  tends  to  give  the  butter  a  greasy  appearance,  which  is 
objectionable.  The  same  thing  will  happen  if  the  butter  is  too 
warm.  A  wise  maker  will  put  his  butter  away  till  it  is  cold, 
rather  than  work  it  soft. 


For  the  island  market  butter  should  be  put  into  pound  prints, 
and  be  neatly  wrapped  in  parchment  paper.  Printers  can  be 
bought  from  dairy  supply  houses  similar  to  the  illustration,  which 
are  filled  by  pressing  the  printer  into  the  mass  of  butter,  and  are 
emptied  by  merely  pressing  the  plunger.  The  butter  should  be 
put  up  in  attractive  packages.  It  is  the  outside  that  sells  the 
article.     Rectangular  prints  are  preferable  to  round. 

WASHING  DAIRY  UTENSILS. 

Buckets,  cans,  etc.,  should  first  be  washed  in  warm  water  and 
then  in  water  boiling  hot.  They  should  be  so  hot  that  no  wiping 
is  needed  to  dry  them.  If  they  are  washed  in  hot  water  first, 
the  milk  will  be  cooked  on,  and  they  will  be  hard  to  clean.  Boil- 
ing water  kills  all  the  germs. 

The  churn  should  be  wrinsed  out  with  warm  water  after  using. 
and  then  with  boiling  water,  after  which  it  should  be  allowed  to 
drain  and  air  out. 

Sunshine  is  a  great  germ  destroyer.  Let  the  dairy  utensils 
have  plenty  of  sunshine. 

BUILDINGS,    ETC. 

The  regulations  of  the  Board  of  Health  about  buildings  are  so 
explicit  that  it  would  be  useless  to  dwell  upon  that  subject  in  this 
bulletin. 

SHORT  RULES. 

Germs  are  the  best  friends  and  the  worst  foes  of  the  butter- 
maker. 

It  is  one  kind  of  germs  that  gives  good  flavor  to  sour  cream. 
It  is  other  kinds  of  germs  that  make  bad  flavors  in  butter. 


9 


Do  not  take  chances.  Kill  the  bad  germs  and  grow  the  good 
germs.     Pasteurize  and  use  a  starter. 

A  small  speck  of  dirt,  or  a  single  cow's  hair  may  harbor  count- 
less germs.     See  that  your  milk  is  clean. 

No  dairy  utensils  except  the  churn  should  be  made  of  wood 


A  Strong  Light  Can  In  Which  to  Ripen 
Cream.     It  is  Easy  to  Clean. 

galvanized  iron  or  enamelware.  Wooden  and  galvanized  iron 
utensils  are  too  rough  and  full  of  cracks  to  clean  well,  and  granite- 
ware  is  good  only  when  new  and  not  chipped.  Smooth,  heavily 
tinned  buckets  and  cans  with  all  seams  smoothly  soldered  are 
the  only  vessels  that  can  be  well  cleaned. 

Use  a  good  brush  for  washing  bucket  and  cans.  Never  use 
the  dishxloth.  Dish-cloths  smear  germs  all  over  everywhere. 
Dish-cloths  do  not  clean  corners. 

Difficulty  in  churning  is  usually  due  to  one  or  more  of  the 
following  causes : 

1.  The  cream  may  be  too  cold,  too  thin,  or  too  thick. 

2.  The  churn  may  have  too  much  cream  in  it. 


10 

3.  The  cream  may  have  been  kept  for  too  long  a  time. 

4.  A   farrow    (or   stripper)    cow's   milk   may  be  causing  the 
trouble. 

5.  The  cows  may  be  getting  feed  which  is  too  dry. 

6.  The  butter-maker  may  be  incompetent,  and  should  consult 
an  expert  butter-maker. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 

lilllllllll 

3  1262  09216  2923 


